The world’s most valuable Vespa is housed at the Vespa museum in Pontedera, but few know much more about the machine than that it bears Dali’s signature…
At Ron Daley’s we’re very proud of our Special Edition Vespa PXs, however even we’ve got to concede that the world’s most valuable Vespa won’t be found in our Barnsley showroom. That accolade goes to a humble Motovespa 150S, currently displayed the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera. What elevates this scooter from the ordinary is the fact that it carries the surrealist artist Salvador Dali’s signature. How the scooter come to be so adorned and its history beyond its encounter with Dali is a fascinating story, with things not always being as they first appear...
The origin story
The popular version of the scooter’s story begins in 156, when two Spanish law students Santiago Guillen and Antonio Veciana visited the cinema to watch the recently released movie ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. Their initial plan was to take an extended trip around Europe, but the idea quickly gathered momentum eventually growing into a trip that would circumnavigate the globe in 79 days, covering a total of 40,000km and take in 17 countries.
Often characterised as a a plucky adventure by two students, the trip was in-fact supported at the highest level. It must be remembered that at this time Spain was still governed by a dictatorship led by General Franco, however by the late 1950s and early 1960s the country was trying to reintegrate itself into the international community. Presumably, a good will trip by two students was seen as a positive way to raise the nation’s profile and the venture received official support from Delegación Nacional de Juventudes (The official Spanish youth organisation), Motovespa and The Spanish Foreign Ministry.
There were obviously large expanses of water to cross and large stretches of terrain that couldn’t be navigated in the allocated time and an unlikely partnership was formed between the organisers and the British Overseas Airways Corporation, who had recently a acquired a fleet of Boeing 707 jet liners. In a move that would give publicity to both the ride and BOAC’s modern fleet of aircraft, the airline would transport the scooter and riders where required.
Operation Elcano
The trip became known as Operation Elcano, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano who completed the first circumnavigation of the globe between 1519 and 1522. The machine selected for the trip was Motovespa 150S, which was christened ‘Dulcinea’ after another Spanish icon, in this case the muse of Don Quixote in the novel of the same name.
As part of the sponsorship arrangements it was agreed that on their return Guillen and Veciana would write an account of their journey, with the proceeds being gifted to the Spanish Youth Organisation.
Meeting the master
The accepted version of the encounter with Dali is that just before their departure, the two students visited relatives in Catalonia. During the visit they rode to Dali’s home and asked him to sign their scooter. Given the level of official support for the venture, and that Dali was a rather controversial supporter of Franco, it’s more likely that the meeting was carefully orchestrated. In any event Dali was reportedly very taken with the Vespa’s lines, remarking that it represented, “Freedom and the joy of movement”. During the meeting Dali added his signature together with the name of his wife, Gala.
(Image courtesy of Daniel Capilla at wikicommons)
The trip
The riders officially began their journey on 25 July 1962 when they left Madrid, riding along the Mediterranean coast through France then down into Italy and Rome. From Rome they crossed Italy to the port at Brindisi, where they missed their scheduled ferry to Athens, forcing them to tale an alternative vessel that docked in Patras. After arriving in Istanbul by road they continued into Asia, following the Silk Road (Or ‘Hippy Trail’) to India. Mechanical problems dogged their journey through Afghanistan, where they were forced to load the scooter onto a truck until a replacement rear shock absorber could be located. Having entered Pakistan by the famous Khyber Pass, the scooter’s electrics began to show signs of distress. These proved difficult to resolve and incurred a delay of 10 days.
In order to make up time, and complete the journey in the scheduled 79 days, the plan was changed. From Calcutta the pair were flown to Kuala Lumpur, from where they rode to Singapore before flying to San Francisco via Hong Kong, Tokyo and Honolulu.
The road trip resumed in San Francisco, roughly following the route of Interstate Highway 80. IN total the pair visited 12 States: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, whilst also making a tourist visit to Washington DC.
The publicity they received was overwhelmingly positive with reporting from Illinois being typical
“Santiago Guillen and Antonio Veciana Ferris students of law at the University f Madrid, Spain stopped in Somonauk recently. These young men were circumnavigating the globe via motor scooter and BOAC 707 aeroplane. Several Somonauk High School students were able to converse with them in French. It was most interesting to find out that the boys were making this trip and hoped to accomplish it in 79 days. When they return to Madrid they will have covered an average of 300 miles a day.
The trip was made possible by the support of the Spanish Government which will sponsor a book that they will write on their return. The proceeds of the book’s sales will be used to provide a sponsorship to enable Spanish students to travel all over the world. They had messages from the Mayor of Madrid to the civic authorities of all major cities through which they pass. The young men left a few souvenirs of their stop-off amongst which was a small pocket knife which they gave to the editor of the Somonauk Reveille, Mr Raymond C Faltz. They told him it was similar to the one that they had carried for protection while on their travels and that it had been purchased in Afghanistan.”
With the trip drawing to a close, they left New York by BOAC 707 landing in London, from where they travelled to Madrid by road, arriving in Madrid on October 12. In total the trip had covered 40,000km, of which 19,000 had been in the Vespa’s saddle wth the remainder being courtesy of BOAC.
After the trip
On their return, both Guillen and Veciana were awarded the medals of Youth and Sports Merit by the Spanish Government and the Gold medal of the Vespa Club of España. Keeping to their end of the the bargain an account of the trip ‘En 79 días: Vuelta al mundo en Vespa’ was first published in 1964. However, despite being reprinted on several occasions, most recently as a 60th anniversary commemorative edition in 2022 by the Vespa Club de Espagne, it’s a difficult to book to locate with copies selling for in excess of €100 on the collector’s market.
The scooter’s road to Pontedera.
Immediately after its trip the Dali Vespa was sold to Motovespa for around 100,000 pesetas ( Approximately €27,000 today), with the money being used to establish the promised scholarship fund. However, the scooter then disappeared for several decades before being re-discovered and sympathetically restored under the supervision of the then Piaggio President, Giovanni Alberto Agnelli. One of the most important figures in the history of Piaggio, Agnelli is credited with both revitalising the flagging corporation and creating the museum in Pontedera.
Since its unveiling at the 1999 European Vespa rally, the Dali Vespa has been exhibited at various museums, including the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the VespArt exhibition in London. Today it can be seen at the museum in Pontedera, a priceless crossover between the worlds of classic scooters and art.
Your own special edition
Whilst we can’t claim to have a Dali on offer, we’re just getting ready to unveil the latest in our own line of Special Edition Vespa PXs. If you’d like more information, or want to get ahead of the inevitable demand for these machines, keep an eye the Special Edition page of our website or even better, contact our sales team on: 01226 203377 or drop them a line at: sales@rondaleyscooters.co.uk
